The Giro, my favourite tour of the year is only 2 weeks....

['Dale]

Valverde attacks!!

['Dale]

Valverde has bridged to the leading group to put the pressure on Orica-GreenEdge and Astana. He's joined up with teammate Giovanni Visconti. Orica's response is to put a man in the escape.

['Dale]

Astana bring some of these riders back - Valverde wasn't going to get away with that. Bob Jungels was also in there. Some of the members of that group have managed to forge on.

['Dale]

 

It's cruel for Damiano Cunego, who is swallowed up and, such is the pace in the bunch, can't attack to chase down the leaders. Nieve is the principal threat here for the mountains classification.

['Dale]

At the head of the race: Mikel Nieve (Team Sky), Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale), Stefan Denifl (IAM), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Damiano Cunego (Nippo Vini Fantini), Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Darwin Atapuma (BMC), Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep).

['Dale]

Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), who has performed brilliantly in the mountains, sets off in pursuit. Also chasing are Rein Taaramae (Katusha) and Aleksey Rybalkin (Gazprom).

['Dale]

Stage 20

Wow

????

['Dale]

Diego Ulissi (Lampre-Merida), who has performed brilliantly in the mountains, sets off in pursuit. Also chasing are Rein Taaramae (Katusha) and Aleksey Rybalkin (Gazprom).

[Frosty]

Denifl attacks at the KOM, I have him on my Superbru team...[emoji38]

['Dale]

 

Foliforov skips away to take the intermediate sprint on this climb, and this leading group is now on the upper slopes.

['Dale]

The eight leaders now have a lead of 5 minutes over the pink jersey group.

['Dale]

Pain cave

 

http://static2.giroditalia.it/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/PW_T20_SAnnaVinadio_alt.jpg

['Dale]

Taaramae and Rybalkin make the junction at the head of the race, while fellow chaser Ulissi falls away.

 

So, the leaders: Mikel Nieve (Team Sky), Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale), Stefan Denifl (IAM), Tanel Kangert (Astana), Giovanni Visconti (Movistar), Darwin Atapuma (BMC), Gianluca Brambilla (Etixx-QuickStep), Rein Taaramae (Katusha) and Aleksey Rybalkin (Gazprom).

['Dale]

Interesting battle for the KOM jersey

 

Denfil and Nieve make up ground on Cunego in the KOM standings. Here's how it now looks:

 

Cunego - 134 points

Nieve - 110 points

Denifl - 108 points

['Dale]

The leaders are now heading downhill and this is going to be a very fast descent. Gianluca Brambilla takes off from the lead group.

['Dale]

Still all calm in the pink jersey group. Besides Valverde's short-lived attack, there hasn't been much pressure on Chaves, who still has teammates with him.